Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[david143]

Further information.
FYI
Candidates who took Oath in August and SEP 2020, Documents are received by MOI for RG publication.
Candidates who took Oath in April 2021 Or still doing , they are in Process for sending back to MOI.

[kst]

  On 5/28/2021 at 12:02 AM, david143 said:

Further information.
FYI
Candidates who took Oath in August and SEP 2020, Documents are received by MOI for RG publication.
Candidates who took Oath in April 2021 Or still doing , they are in Process for sending back to MOI.

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Does that mean we should be expecting an announcement in RG soon? 

[david143]

  On 5/28/2021 at 2:21 PM, kst said:

Does that mean we should be expecting an announcement in RG soon? 

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I am expecting the same .

[jakestevernson]

Hi guys,

 

In regards to Thai Citizenship, do you need a property in Thailand in your name, or can you simply be on a Tabien Baan (yellow book) of your spouse's house/condo?

 

Any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks JS 

[david143]

  On 5/30/2021 at 1:26 AM, jakestevernson said:

Hi guys,

 

In regards to Thai Citizenship, do you need a property in Thailand in your name, or can you simply be on a Tabien Baan (yellow book) of your spouse's house/condo?

 

Any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks JS 

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Only Yellow Book is Enough for you if you don't have a PR.

Wife's Tabien baan no matter where in Thailand, your Yellow book must be in Bangkok if you want to apply at Special Branch Bangkok.
unless if your yellow book is from other city/province then contact your Local SB office / DOPA office.

[Arkady]

  On 5/30/2021 at 1:26 AM, jakestevernson said:

Hi guys,

 

In regards to Thai Citizenship, do you need a property in Thailand in your name, or can you simply be on a Tabien Baan (yellow book) of your spouse's house/condo?

 

Any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks JS 

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Getting a yellow tabien baan (or blue one if PR) is a fairly simple procedure, if the householder signs the form to confirm you are allowed to live there, even if you live somewhere else.  A large proportion of Thais don't live at the address of their tabien baan which makes it a rather pointless legacy system, dating back to the 1950s, when censuses and civil registration began, almost unchanged.  But this saves them the trouble of re-registering when they move to a new home.  Time was that they had to go to the place they were registered to get a new ID card or to vote but that is no longer necessary, giving even less incentive to be registered at the place they actually live.  

 

Given the above it is not going to be a problem if you get on a tabien baan of friends or family.  As David suggested above many people, who live in the provinces,  do this to get an address in Bangkok so they can apply to Special Branch in Bangkok, being the only dedicated citizenship application office in the country.  In most provinces applying to the provincial SB office, as required by law, is simply a non-starter.  They either just refuse to do it, saying they are not the right place, or try to help you but screw it up because they don't have a clue and don't want to go to a lot of trouble and lose face by asking Bangkok for coaching.  Some provinces with more foreigners like Chonburi, Phuket and Chiang Mai will accept applications which can work but there are sometimes problems reported by people who have applied in other provinces, e.g. demands for fees and additional and unnecessary procedures not required in the ministry guidelines.  Many people have given up after several frustating months trying in provinces with few foreigners and got a tabien in Bangkok.  It is a weakness in the law that doesn't take into account the impracticality of forcing SB provincial offices to handle the applications when they might have never had to do this before.  It would make much more sense to accept reality and make SB Bangkok the centre for all applicants which is what happens with PR that you have to apply for in Bangkok.  They have plenty of spare capacity.   But nobody cares about fixing this.

[Marcati]

  On 5/14/2021 at 4:04 AM, onthemoon said:

Thanks. The reason I ask is that I want to estimate when it will be my turn. From the timelines I saw here, I estimated about 18 months between sending the documents to MoI and the interview on average, but everything seems to be delayed now.

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I am very curious about this as well. All of my paperwork has been completed by the SB and is supposed to be sent to the MOI so I would like to know how long it will be before I can get the last interview.

[Capiscum]

Greetings All - a huge thanks to all contributors on this thread, it has been a huge help in looking into the possibility of Thai Citizenship via marriage.

 

I have a few questions I am hoping folks can shed light on.

 

Previous Passports:

 

I only have my current and last passport.  Previous passports have either been lost, water damaged, or are packed away in a box in my home country.   I do have a letter from my Govt. which lists all passports ever issued and their numbers/details.  I have 15 years of work permits and tax paid with the same school here in Thailand.

 

How many years worth of old passports is required ? 

 

Remitting Funds Abroad

 

Some previous posts from around 2018 (Arkady, Neeranam, OntheMoon) discussed remittance of funds abroad after becoming Thai.  I would still want to send funds overseas for investments (not to my home country).  Are people with new Thai identities still managing to send funds without any issues ?  

 

How about the reverse scenario, of bringing funds into Thailand once the working life is finished ?

 

Many thanks again.  

[onthemoon]

  On 6/10/2021 at 3:26 AM, Capiscum said:

How many years worth of old passports is required ? 

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In my case, 5 years' worth of passports, with copies of all pages. I applied based on business, not marriage, but I don't think that makes a difference.

They seemed surprised that I had all passports on hand, so I think it is not unusual that old ones are missing. With the passport numbers, they can check in their system when and how long you stayed in Thailand on each.

[david143]

anyone who done Oath Ceremony , received any call for amend document from SB, the reason i am asking today i talked to my case officer he said there was problem in few candidates

 

i have 3 books attached with current passport,
it doesn't make difference, they need to see if you paid taxes last 3 years PND 91 , do you have WP from last 3 years, salary upto requirement or not, thats all brother nothing to worry  

[Arkady]

  On 6/10/2021 at 3:26 AM, Capiscum said:

Remitting Funds Abroad

 

Some previous posts from around 2018 (Arkady, Neeranam, OntheMoon) discussed remittance of funds abroad after becoming Thai.  I would still want to send funds overseas for investments (not to my home country).  Are people with new Thai identities still managing to send funds without any issues ?  

 

How about the reverse scenario, of bringing funds into Thailand once the working life is finished ?

 

Many thanks again.  

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I did this when I needed to remit funds in an emergency soon after obtaining ID and had the salary evidence in the form of the year end tax form from the employer and WP which I think had still not expired, as I didn't bother to cancel it, but expired WP showing you had one covering the period of the salaries is I think enough. Also I don't think there is any check to stop you using the same salary evidence more than once. The bank assured me that there was just a box ticking exercise at the central bank and would only attract attention for a very large amount. Obviously this method can only be used for recent new citz.  Thais can remit for certain investments and for paying overseas school fees and maintenance for kids abroad but need documentation. Anyone can remit against invoices for import of legal goods for reasonable amounts.  For investments in shares you can open an international account with a Thai broker and use onshore funds to buy foreign shares in quite a few overseas markets.

[Arkady]

Come to think of it, it may be possible to the overseas remittance with foreign passport and salary evidence without WP. Need to ask the bank if you want to try this.

[onthemoon]

  On 6/10/2021 at 7:14 AM, Arkady said:

Come to think of it, it may be possible to the overseas remittance with foreign passport and salary evidence without WP. Need to ask the bank if you want to try this.

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You cannot use your foreign passport in Thailand any more after you have Thai citizenship.... ????

 

As a PR, I now remit to my own overseas accounts as "Savings". I would think this won't change once I have Thai citizenship, but I'm happy to talk to my bank about this. Will revert back.

[Arkady]

  On 6/10/2021 at 8:20 AM, onthemoon said:

As a PR, I now remit to my own overseas accounts as "Savings". I would think this won't change once I have Thai citizenship, but I'm happy to talk to my bank about this. Will revert back.

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Unless things have changed, Thais cannot just remit savings from their salaries overseas.  They need to send for specific documented investments, supporting kids or other relatives overseas.  But anyone can send an a small undocumented remittance overseas.  The limit for that used to be US$2,000.

[kst]

  On 6/10/2021 at 4:29 AM, david143 said:

anyone who done Oath Ceremony , received any call for amend document from SB, the reason i am asking today i talked to my case officer he said there was problem in few candidates

 

i have 3 books attached with current passport,
it doesn't make difference, they need to see if you paid taxes last 3 years PND 91 , do you have WP from last 3 years, salary upto requirement or not, thats all brother nothing to worry  

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Hmmm is this what the "holdup" is about? Did your case officer shed any light on when next RG announcement may be? 

 

Quite weird that after all the verification of docs that now there are a few problems with docs at the last stage. 

[onthemoon]

  On 6/10/2021 at 11:35 AM, Arkady said:

 

Unless things have changed, Thais cannot just remit savings from their salaries overseas.  They need to send for specific documented investments, supporting kids or other relatives overseas.  But anyone can send an a small undocumented remittance overseas.  The limit for that used to be US$2,000.

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That would be a bummer. I'll advise what my bank says, I hope this have changed indeed.

[yankee99]

  On 6/10/2021 at 11:49 AM, onthemoon said:

That would be a bummer. I'll advise what my bank says, I hope this have changed indeed.

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Im setup to do international transfer online no passport or documents needed as long as i dont change anything on this account i should be fine? 

[onthemoon]

  On 6/10/2021 at 11:53 AM, yankee99 said:

Im setup to do international transfer online no passport or documents needed as long as i dont change anything on this account i should be fine? 

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I do international transfers to my accounts online, no documents required. However, the moment I become a Thai citizen, I have to inform the bank. If their software is worth anything, it should block me automatically from transferring "savings" to my accounts online - if it is indeed not allowed for Thai citizens.

[Arkady]

  On 6/10/2021 at 11:49 AM, onthemoon said:

That would be a bummer. I'll advise what my bank says, I hope this have changed indeed.

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I found this on Tilleke and Gibbon's website regarding a relaxation of the foreign exchange regulations in 2019.

Outward transfers

When conducting outward transfers of foreign currency in an amount less than USD 200,000, the customer is no longer required to provide supporting documentation to commercial banks. This represents an increase from the previous threshold of USD 50,000.

 

[onthemoon]

  On 6/10/2021 at 3:06 PM, Arkady said:

 

I found this on Tilleke and Gibbon's website regarding a relaxation of the foreign exchange regulations in 2019.

Outward transfers

When conducting outward transfers of foreign currency in an amount less than USD 200,000, the customer is no longer required to provide supporting documentation to commercial banks. This represents an increase from the previous threshold of USD 50,000.

 

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This is very useful, thanks!

[Neeranam]

As a Thai, I've sent cash online to the UK with no problem, but it was under $20k, which I thought was the limit. 

I might be sending more soon, but am thinking of doing it in cryptocurrency. However, I'm not sure of the tax implications yet. I can do this by P2P. 

[onthemoon]

  On 6/11/2021 at 3:46 AM, Neeranam said:

As a Thai, I've sent cash online to the UK with no problem, but it was under $20k, which I thought was the limit. 

I might be sending more soon, but am thinking of doing it in cryptocurrency. However, I'm not sure of the tax implications yet. I can do this by P2P. 

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Thanks for the confirmation. US$20K is OK for me.

Crypto is another can-o'-worms though. ????

[david143]

latest update
i really hate this word
เร็วๆนี้ Very soon

today talked to MOI staff and again same story เร็วๆนี้ Very soon
i wonder when this word will going to THE END

10 months for oath
waiting RG from last 6 months, 26 days


Gabba Brother was lucky he waited only 4 months,
Neeraman Brother chokdee maakk only 2 months 23 days
And yankee Brother and me affffffffffffffffffff

[Neeranam]

  On 6/11/2021 at 4:22 AM, david143 said:

latest update
i really hate this word
เร็วๆนี้ Very soon

today talked to MOI staff and again same story เร็วๆนี้ Very soon
i wonder when this word will going to THE END

10 months for oath
waiting RG from last 6 months, 26 days


Gabba Brother was lucky he waited only 4 months,
Neeraman Brother chokdee maakk only 2 months 23 days
And yankee Brother and me affffffffffffffffffff

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I am sure you hate this one too ????

ใจเย็นๆ

I had to wait longer than you for Oath(10 months)

Hopefully, it will be next week. 

 

 

[david143]

  On 6/11/2021 at 4:35 AM, Neeranam said:

I am sure you hate this one too ????

ใจเย็นๆ

I had to wait longer than you for Oath(10 months)

Hopefully, it will be next week. 

 

 

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Chai yen yen

omg , its annoying ,

if someone said that is the date ok no problem phom ko chai yen dai na pi
brother its really annoying hahahah believe me , you experience from Oath to RG only 2.5 months,
we going to 7 months on this 17 June ????

 

[Arkady]

Does anyone have experience of getting a foreign passport for a child born after they got citizenship?  I wondered, if it would create any complications with both parents being Thai on the birth certificate since the parents' nationality on the birth certificate can be used as evidence of nationality by passport authorities.  

 

At least with a Thai father on the birth certificate a child will have the opportunity to be promoted above the rank of private, if he or she joins the Thai military or gets drafted.  That archaic regulation is a disgraceful piece of racial discrimination against Thais with foreign fathers that is also unconstitutional.  I know one look krung who was an officer in the Thai army but it was his mother who was farang, so he was OK.

[GabbaGabbaHey]

  On 6/11/2021 at 4:40 AM, david143 said:

[neeranam] experienced from Oath to RG only 2.5 months,

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I don't think so as I believe it was at least 4 months like me, Neeranam can you confirm how long you had to wait?

[Neeranam]

  On 6/11/2021 at 6:57 AM, GabbaGabbaHey said:

I don't think so as I believe it was at least 4 months like me, Neeranam can you confirm how long you had to wait?

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I think July 30 for Oath and Nov 17 for RG, so 3.5 months. 

Felt much longer. 

[Marcati]

  On 6/11/2021 at 4:35 AM, Neeranam said:

I am sure you hate this one too ????

ใจเย็นๆ

I had to wait longer than you for Oath(10 months)

Hopefully, it will be next week. 

 

 

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Yeah, my wife keeps saying that to me every week when I asked her if she called SB to see if my paperwork went to the MOI yet. 2 months since they said they were sending it.... ????????????

[khongaeng]

  On 6/11/2021 at 5:53 AM, Arkady said:

Does anyone have experience of getting a foreign passport for a child born after they got citizenship?  I wondered, if it would create any complications with both parents being Thai on the birth certificate since the parents' nationality on the birth certificate can be used as evidence of nationality by passport authorities.  

 

 

 

At least with a Thai father on the birth certificate a child will have the opportunity to be promoted above the rank of private, if he or she joins the Thai military or gets drafted.  That archaic regulation is a disgraceful piece of racial discrimination against Thais with foreign fathers that is also unconstitutional.  I know one look krung who was an officer in the Thai army but it was his mother who was farang, so he was OK.

 

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I have never had an issue with getting the first passport for a child from an embassy that on the child's birth certificate neither father or mother have that nationality listed.  I suppose it depends on if the country allows dual nationality (you might have issues with Germany).  My experience is that if the parents are already registered with that embassy, if they bring the documents showing the child is theirs, then the child is added to the system.